The Nation Newspaper

Tag: OOU

  • OOU-NASU protest

    The Non-Academic Staff Union of Universities (NASU) at the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State chapter, yesterday protested the non-payment of its two-month salary by the state government.

    The union said its members would shun work, if the government fails to pay their outstanding salary.

    NASU Chairman Adewole Raheem said: “We are asking for the prompt payment of our salary, but the government is not taking us serious. It is only in OOU that we use subvention, which is meant for the day-to-day running of the school, to pay salary.”

    OOU Vice-Chancellor Prof. Saburi Adesanya said he could not stop them from protesting, but urged them to go about it peacefully.

    He urged them to discuss with the government and resolve the matter amicably.

  • OOU loses students

    OOU loses students

    Students and staff of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU) in Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State were in mourning mood last week, following the death of a graduating student, Philips Kadiene Azubuike.

    Philips, a student of Computer Science, was said to have died in an auto crash that occurred on Oru-Ijebu road.

    Until his death, Philip was the Coordinator of the Nigerian Red Cross (NRC) in the university. He was also the technical coordinator of his fellowship.

    Another student, Emmanuel Okonkwo, in the Faculty of Law has reportedly died. Speaking to CAMPUSLIFE, Femi Oyeniyi, a graduating student of Political Science, said: “It is unfortunate that we lost him. Azubuike was an easygoing fellow. He was nice person and always filled with fun.”

     

     

  • Ex-VC calls for national summit on education

    Ex-VC calls for national summit on education

    Former Vice Chancellor of Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Prof. Tunji Oyeneye, has called for a national summit to address the falling standard of education in the country.

    He attributed the rot in the education sector in the country to all stakeholders, whom the don described as hypocrite.

    Oyeneye, who is also the former Pro-Chancellor of Tai Solarin University of Education (TASUED), made the call yesterday at the 4th international conference of the Centre for Development and Policy Issues in Africa (CEDPIA) held at the Conference Centre, University of Ibadan (UI), Ibadan, the Oyo State capital.

    “Nigeria is not a pariah state; we live in the comity of nations and as their educational practices influence us, ours must also influence them. We must have a national conference on education where all educational stakeholders will be present and discuss these following issues: What can be regarded as the best practices on education? What are the yardsticks for measuring best practices in education?

     

    “What future do we want to build with the type of education we are giving to our children?

    “These are questions that we should ask and it is not about the issue of allocating trillions of naira to the sector. We should focus on a type of education that will benefit our country,” Oyeneye posited.

    On the way out of the crisis, the university don said the government has to decide if it has the resources to fund education, adding, “If the government cannot fund education alone, they should tell the whole world and let all the stakeholders contribute.”

  • OOU takes steps to regain lost glory

    OOU takes steps to regain lost glory

    To redeem its lost glory, the management of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, has started reforms in the instutiton.

    In a statement, Mr Niyi Oduwole, Public Relations Officer (PRO) of the university, said Senator Ibikunle Amosun’s election as governor and consequently the Visitor to the university has had positive effect on the institution’s development. Oduwole said Amosun’s inauguration of a new governing council led by Dr Segun Oshin, was the beginning of a new dawn for the institution and its 1,396 workers and 13, 922 students.

    Some of the changes made included Prof Saburi Adesanya’s appointment as the Acting Vice-Chancellor with the mandate to reposition the institution to meet the challenges of a modern day university and proffer necessary solutions.

    “The vice-chancellor started the onerous task of updating the database of all the students in the university. Students were compelled to see the completion of their on-line registration as a necessity to being a formal member of the university community,” Oduwole said.

    He said this update made it possible for the university to sort out outstanding results and graduate 40, 121 during its convocation in October last year.

    He said: “This was evident in the combined convocation ceremonies held in October 2012 where 4, 041 diploma certificates, 34, 200 first degrees, 1, 856 masters, and 51 PhDs were awarded to deserving individuals in deserving disciplines. Thus, the issue of outstanding result which had become a blight on the image of the university was resolved by the present management.

    “Now OOU students do their convocation and take their certificates same day. As at this moment, there are no students with outstanding results. Results which were hitherto non-available or very difficult to retrieve are now made available to graduands with ease.”

    Oduwole said soon, the vice-chancellor has promised to evolve an (Information and Communications Technology) ICT system that will enable the institution to send results to parents and wards by the end of this 2012/2013 academic session.

    He further said in line with the National Universities Commission (NUC) guidelines, OOU has pruned her programmes from about 75 to 56 for effective management.

    Oduwole said little wonder that during OOU had 100 per cent accreditation for all her programmes during the last NUC accreditation.

    He added that its admission quota also increased from 4,000 to 6,000 for the 2012/2013 session.

    Oduwole added that with the support of the Oshin-led council, the management has been able to convince the senate to introduce new postgraduate programmes in Management, Engineering, Science, Medical and Para-Medical courses.

     

  • Amosun confirms Adesanya OOU VC

    The Ogun State Governor and Visitor to Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Senator Ibikunle Amosun has confirmed the appointment of Prof Saburi Adejimi Adesanya as the Vice-Chancellor of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye in substantive capacity with immediate effect.

    Adesanya, a Professor of Pharmacognosy was appointed the Acting Vice-Chancellor of the institution on July 27, 2012 by the OOU Governing Council.

    According to a release issued last Friday by the Secretary to the State Government, Mr Taiwo Adeoluwa, the Vice-Chancellor was described as an erudite scholar with a teaching experience spanning almost three decades in the University system.

    Adesanya became a professor in 1996 and was the Deputy Vice-Chancellor (Administration) of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife from 2009 to 2012. He has over 40 publications in international and local journals to his credit.

     

  • ASUU begins indefinite strike over allowance

    ASUU begins indefinite strike over allowance

    …describes action as inevitable

    The Academic Staff Union of Universities on Monday renewed its hostility with the Federal Government as it declared an indefinite strike action. The resolution followed the body’s National Executive Committee meeting held at the Olabisi Onabanjo University Ago-Iwoye in Ogun State on Sunday and dragged till the early hours of Monday.

    According to reports, 51 of the 53 branches of ASUU unanimously agreed to embark on the strike.

    The strike with the government, The Nation learned, followed the federal government‘s failure to honour the Academic Earned Allowance (AEA) which formed a component of the 2009 Agreement government signed with the union.

    Declaring the strike, ASUU chairman University of Lagos (UNILAG) chapter, Dr. Karo Ogbinaka, who addressed reporters at the university premises described the strike as a “painful yet inevitable decision.” He added that ASUU is tired of government’s dilly dallying, and cannot allowed itself to be insulted any further.

    Throwing more light on the AEA, Ogbinaka said it includes allowances paid as part of excess work load responsibility allowance, and allowance for supervision of Post Graduate Programmes for lecturers, head of department (HoDs), Deans and exam officers, among others.

    He added that the highest AEA is not more than N12, 500 per month, wondering why it has remained difficult for government to live up to its promises.

  • Tuition: OOU students protest government’s directives

    Tuition: OOU students protest government’s directives

    Students of Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye, Ogun State, on Monday protested the state government’s directives, asking the institution authorities to stop students owing tuition fees from writing the Harmattan Semester examinations.

    Several students, including the university’s student union president have been arrested and taken to Ijebu-Igbo for questioning.

    The state government had earlier said students owing school fees would be barred from entering examination halls during the period.

    Following the expiration of the deadline given to students of the institution to regularize their records, the state government directed that only those that met the deadline should commence their examinations slated to begin on Monday.

    This was made known in a statement by the Secretary to the state Government, Taiwo Adeoluwa.

    The government warned all students who have not completed the registration formalities, or fully paid their school fees, to stay away from the university campuses.

    The government, Mr. Adeoluwa said, had compelled the university authorities to postpone the harmattan semester examination three times in the past to allow all students to regularize their records.

    He said five categories of students were identified in the student audit conducted by the Olusegun Osinowo Visitation Panel set up in 2011 to review situation in the university.

    The first category of students included those who are properly registered, have matriculation numbers and are up to date in the payment of their school fees.

    The second consist of students who have matriculation numbers but requested that they be allowed to pay their school fees in installment; while the third category are those who have matriculation numbers but have defaulted in the payment of school fees over the years because they claimed their parents could not afford to pay.

     

  • OOU recalls 100 lecturers, others

    No fewer than 100 workers, including 50 lecturers of the Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago-Iwoye, who were relieved of their jobs under the Dr Alex Onabanjo-led Governing Council, have been recalled.

    About 825 teaching and non-teaching staff lost their jobs between 2009 and 2010 in manners the victims and various labour unions in the institution described as “arbitrary, witch-hunting, illegal and destructive.”

    A breakdown of the sacked workers showed that the Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) had 150 of its members relieved of their jobs when Onabanjo, who was appointed by the administration of Gbenga Daniel, was in charge; while 100 others left on their own because of the harsh academic climate.

    The Senior Staff Association of Nigerian Universities (SSANU) had 265 of its members sacked in the downsizing blizzard while the rest were spread between Non-Academic Staff of Educational Association Institution (NASU) and one other union.

    The Acting Vice-Chancellor, Prof Adejimi Adesanya, announced the recall of 50 lecturers and 50 non- academic staff at the main campus following the recommendations of a “broad-based committee” set up by the university management to review the case.

    Adesanya, who made this known at the opening session of a two-day regular Universities Trade Group Council meeting of NASU, hosted by the OOU chapter, added that more would be recalled as soon as the financial status of the university improved.

    Over 200 NASU delegates from states and federal universities attended the meeting.

    The Ag. VC spoke in reaction to an appeal by the NASU OOU branch Chairman, Comrade Rahman Adewole, to the management to “give the staff and students’ welfare its deserved priority, to hasten the recovery process presently taking place in the university.”

    Adewole said: “We appreciate the fact that, the university is gradually picking up and as long as the union is striving not to exert much pressure on the system, we want to trust that the University Management as well on the Governing Council will demonstrate utmost good faith in their dealing with the Union.”

    The NASU boss also urged the university to address the issue of non-remittance of its 7.5 per cent share of the contributory pension fund.

    “It is most disheartening to note that up till today, staff in the University that voluntarily agreed to join this Pension Scheme in 2008 are yet to know their fate on the retirement benefit with the continued refusal of the university to remit the 7.5 per cent counterpart funding expected of it.

    “Although it is a state wide problem, we appeal to the university’s Governing Council to give this very important aspect of staff welfare the priority it deserves. Moreover that our sister University in Ogun State (TASUED) had been paying both legs fully since inception.”

     

  • OOU to mark 30th anniversary with colloquium

    The Olabisi Onabanjo University (OOU), Ago Iwoye, Ogun State, will on Thursday hold a colloquium on education at the DLK Events Centre on Moshood Abiola Way in Abeokuta, the state capital.

    The theme of the colloquium is: “Nigeria tertiary education in crisis: The way forward”.

    This is part of activities marking the institution’s 30th anniversary.

    OOU’s Pro-Chancellor and Chairman of the Governing Council Dr. Segun Oshin said the choice of the theme was influenced by the deterioration of tertiary education, which he said needs the urgent attention of stake holders.

    The speakers include the Chief Executive of Higher Education in the United Kingdom (UK), Prof. Craig Mahoney, former Ghanaian Minister of Education and Member of Parliament Prof. Dominic Fobih and former Executive Secretary, Tertiary Education Tax Fund, Prof. Yakub Mamud.

    There will be a panel of discussants on the topic.

  • OOU to recall sacked lecturers, others

    •Certificates ready for 6,403 graduands

    Thousands of graduates of Olabisi Onbanjo University (OOU), Ago – Iwoye, who left the institution since 2005 without certificates following tardy procedures can now heave a sigh of relief.

    The acting Vice – chancel-lor, Prof. Sabur Adesanya, said no fewer than 6, 403 of them would be conferred with degrees, higher degrees and diplomas of the university and they will soon get their certificates.

    Adesanya made this known to reporters ahead of the institution’s 22nd convocation slated for Tuesday.

    He assured other categories of graduands particularly the none – regulars (part- timers) whose names may not reflect in the current convocation and said they should not entertain any worry.

    According to him, the matters affecting their academic records are being sorted out with dispatch to ensure that they collect their certificates soonest with others.

    He said the school was already upgrading its transcript process to enable graduates pursue further education in other universities.

    To achieve this, the vice chancellor disclosed that the university had started the computerisation process so that graduates could easily access their transcript via internet.

    Adesanya said the school’s management, in conjunction with the Senate had approved results from the 2004/2005 academic session till 2012/2013 academic session.

    The acting VC also pledged that about 2,000 students would be provided with hostel accommodation on or before December.

    This, he said, is part of measures towards gradually phasing out of off – campus policy.

    Adesanya revealed that the institution currently enjoys full accreditation of all its 56 academic programmes by the National Universities Commission (NUC).

    He, however, lamented that the school was still facing the challenge of staff, adding that some lecturers disengaged by the university authorities would soon be recalled.

    He said: “We have challenges right now about staffing and we, in the next few months or days, will be recalling some of our staffs that were disengaged sometimes ago.” back to work.